Prices and interest rates are up, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing

Tensions are spiking in the Middle East, and so is the price of oil, which reached $77 per bbl. That's a record, and not a good one as far as motorists and investors are concerned. Nor is it happy news for inflation, which is already at a 16-year high largely because of surging fuel costs. Consumer prices of all stripes rose at an annualized rate of 5.2% in May--enough to take some of the fun out of shopping. But Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, is on the case. The Fed raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point...